Although the village was overwhelmed with the recent friction with the Land of Wind, it didn't forget another relatively important matter.
That was the commendation for the victory achieved on the Land of Rain battlefield last time; it just wasn't as grand.
Thus, that morning, Kyuushin, wearing his chunin vest, brought Minato and Nawaki to the Hokage Office building, though this time it wasn't inside an office, but in an auditorium.
When Kyuushin and the two arrived, many shinobi were already waiting, and upon seeing Kyuushin, they all greeted him warmly.
Kyuushin was no longer a nobody; with the title bestowed by Hanzo, coupled with the strength he displayed on the battlefield, and being Tsunade's disciple, he was a figure many shinobi would look up to in the future, both in terms of strength and status.
The shinobi present were not foolish; they naturally took the opportunity to build connections while they had some acquaintance, or at least get a familiar face.
And Kyuushin, of course, welcomed everyone, able to exchange a few words with each shinobi, which left many shinobi with a good impression of Kyuushin's amiable demeanor.
However, not long after, the Third Hokage appeared on stage, first thanking everyone for their brave performance on the Land of Rain battlefield, praising the Will of Fire that was willing to sacrifice for the village, and then, without further ado, directly had everyone come up one by one to receive their rewards.
However, most of these rewards were distributed in the form of mission counts and bonuses, with only a select few receiving promotions in rank or ninjutsu rewards.
Minato and Nawaki were two of them, directly promoted to chunin by the Third Hokage; if based on their strength and mission counts, they could have been promoted much earlier.
However, Minato and Nawaki previously lacked the tactical decision-making ability at the chunin level, so their promotion had been held back by the Third Hokage.
After this war, the two also matured, at least gaining the ability to face war directly, so the Third Hokage took the opportunity to promote them directly to chunin.
As for Kyuushin, although he contributed a lot in this war, he was still somewhat short of the mission volume required for a jonin, so he, like most shinobi, only received rewards in terms of mission counts and bonuses.
However, his mission counts were much higher than others, totaling three C-rank missions, five B-rank missions, nine A-rank missions, and even one S-rank mission.
All the mission bonuses combined amounted to nearly a million Ryo, but these missions were issued by the village, and the pure mission bonuses were not as high as regular missions, only that he no longer had to pay a share to the village.
The commendation ceremony quickly ended, and Nawaki laughed nonstop; he had previously envied Kyuushin for wearing a chunin vest, and now he had one too, naturally very excited.
So he just greeted Orochimaru and the two, then eagerly dragged Minato to collect their equipment.
Orochimaru watched his disciple with a smile and said nothing, but Tsunade said to Kyuushin:
"I see Nawaki is so excited this time he's practically floating; you'll have to keep a close eye on him later."
Kyuushin nodded without speaking; he knew that although Nawaki was very excited now, he was not someone who would get carried away, and he also trusted him greatly, so he wouldn't stop listening to his commands just because he was promoted to chunin.
Jiraiya, sporting a black eye, probably from being beaten after not agreeing with Tsunade's suggestion, looked somewhat worried at this moment and said:
"This friction with Sunagakure will likely escalate into a major war, and the three of us will probably have to go to the battlefield again."
Upon hearing this, Tsunade and Orochimaru also fell silent, clearly disliking war, but before they could remain silent for long, an Anbu appeared beside them:
"Lord Jiraiya, Lady Tsunade, Lord Orochimaru, and Uzumaki Kyuushin, Hokage-sama requests your presence!"
The three looked at each other, sighed again, and could only follow reluctantly, while Kyuushin was a little puzzled, wondering why the Third Hokage called him.
The four arrived at the Hokage Office, and even before entering, they smelled a strong scent of smoke, making Kyuushin's eyes sting.
The Third Hokage had just commended them, and in such a short time, he had smoked so much; generally, smoking so much in a short period indicates either drinking and playing cards, or a lot of worries.
The Third Hokage in his office naturally wouldn't be drinking or playing cards, which could only mean that the Third Hokage was indeed under a lot of pressure.
As soon as Tsunade entered, she ran to the window, opened it, then walked to the Third Hokage and snatched the pipe from his hand, complaining:
"Why are you smoking so much again? Aren't you afraid of choking yourself to death?"
The Third Hokage, seeing his pipe taken away, unhabitually rubbed his fingers but didn't take it back. Looking at his three closest disciples, he frowned deeply and, without further ado, directly said:
"This time, there will likely be a major war with Sunagakure. I have already allocated manpower and resources as much as possible, but the choice of commander is difficult for me to decide at the moment, so I wanted to ask for your thoughts."
If it were before, this question would basically be nothing to discuss; Danzo had always been in charge of Sunagakure affairs, and entrusting him to command this battle would be most appropriate.
However, he is now severely injured, and not to mention this time, if he doesn't recover, he might not be able to go to the battlefield in the future.
And the other deputy commander for Sunagakure affairs, Sakumo Hatake, came from Anbu; he was skilled at intelligence gathering and assassinating key figures, but when it came to commanding a war, he was out of his depth.
Previously, the Third Hokage assigned Sakumo Hatake to Danzo, mainly intending for Danzo to formulate plans and Sakumo Hatake to be responsible for their specific execution.
But unexpectedly, Danzo insisted on acting himself, and not only did he fail to achieve full success, but he also got himself injured.
Sunagakure, whether it was the Third Kazekage or Chiyo, were both masters of strategy and tactics. Sakumo Hatake could contend with them for a short period, relying on his powerful strength to hold his ground.
But once time dragged on, and Sunagakure resorted to some conspiracy or trick, Sakumo Hatake might not be able to avoid falling victim.
However, Sakumo Hatake had made such great contributions before, so the Third Hokage naturally couldn't just remove him from his command position, otherwise, Sakumo Hatake would lose face.
Although the Third Hokage knew Sakumo Hatake's character, that he wasn't someone who desired power, this wasn't just about him; all Konoha shinobi were watching, so it naturally had to appear fair.
However, fighting Sunagakure required a commander skilled in tactics, so the problem lay here; currently, in Konoha Village, there really wasn't a shinobi who could firmly outrank Sakumo Hatake in terms of military achievements and seniority.
Unless the Third Hokage himself personally took command, there would naturally be nothing to say, but the current situation clearly hadn't reached that point yet.
After Orochimaru heard the Third Hokage's words, he understood his meaning with a little thought. After pondering for a while, he said:
"Senior Sakumo has worked tirelessly and made great contributions; it would be best for the position of overall war commander to remain unchanged. However, Sensei, you could appoint several deputy commanders. Two heads are better than one, and three heads are even better, which would make the war more secure."
The Third Hokage smiled and nodded; this was also the best solution he could think of. Seeing that Orochimaru's thinking aligned with his own, he no longer hesitated and directly said:
"Since that's the case, I hereby order you, Orochimaru, and Nara Shikaku, to serve together as deputy commanders for this war. I hope the two of you will diligently assist Sakumo in identifying and addressing any shortcomings. I will also write a letter to Sakumo to inform him."
Nara Shikaku was the father of Nara Shikaku, and had always served as the Third Hokage's advisor. Whenever major events occurred, the Third Hokage would listen to Shikaku's opinions, but he didn't expect the Third Hokage to transfer him to the front line this time.
Orochimaru bowed and accepted the order. The Third Hokage nodded and looked at Tsunade and Jiraiya, then continued:
"Sunagakure has always been fond of using poison, so your mission this time, Tsunade, is also very arduous. I need you to quickly develop corresponding antidotes, and you must not allow our Konoha shinobi to die on a large scale from Sunagakure's poisons.
As for Jiraiya, you will serve as a frontline combatant this time, responsible for leading the shinobi in battle. As for your specific position, I will also write to Sakumo, and he will decide. You only need to follow orders."
Tsunade and Jiraiya both nodded in agreement. With their current seniority, they could naturally take on leadership roles in battles against smaller nations like the Land of Rain, but in battles against major nations, they were still a bit lacking.
Then the Third Hokage gave the three of them a departure time. As a deputy commander, Orochimaru naturally needed to rush to the front lines immediately, while Jiraiya and Tsunade were not as urgent, but the Third Hokage also requested them to depart within ten days.
After arranging for Tsunade and the two, the Third Hokage's gaze then turned to Kyuushin. Seeing the look of confusion on Kyuushin's face, the Third Hokage directly asked:
"Kyuushin, are you also going to the battlefield this time? If you don't want to go, you can also cultivate peacefully in the village."
Kyuushin didn't hesitate and directly said, "Yes, Hokage-sama, I also want to contribute my strength to the village."
Tsunade turned her head to glance at Kyuushin. The Third Hokage, hearing Kyuushin say this, also relaxed his brows and showed a hint of a smile:
"Very well, since you insist, I will not stop you. However, on the battlefield, you must still be careful to protect yourself and never be rash. If we lose you, even if this war is won, it would still be a great loss for Konoha."
"Yes, Hokage-sama, I will certainly not disappoint your expectations," Kyuushin said with a moved expression.
Watching the harmonious scene before her, Tsunade almost got goosebumps, but the Third Hokage didn't notice her and continued to Kyuushin:
"However, you don't need to rush; I still have a mission for you. It's not too late for you to go to the battlefield after completing this mission."
After speaking, he picked up a scroll from his desk and handed it to Kyuushin. Kyuushin quickly took it and began to read.
Kyuushin originally thought it would be some high-difficulty mission, but he didn't expect that after opening the scroll, he discovered that the mission the Third Hokage assigned him was to be an examiner at the Ninja Academy.